Astros are shooting to make their fourth World Series appearance since 2017.
We’ve seen surprises in the MLB 2022 postseason baseball. The team with the best record, the Los Angeles Dodgers, was eliminated by the San Diego Padres. Another surprising team, the Seattle Mariners, took on my hometown team, the Houston Astros. The Mariners got to the divisional round by beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card series.
The Astros ended up sweeping the Mariners 3-0. Yordan Alverez hit a 3-run walk-off home run in the 9th to win Game 1. Yordan struck again with a game-winner home run to give the Astros a Game 2 victory. The series switched to Seattle for Game 3, which was played in a smoke-filled park because of a nearly brush fire. It was an incredible game, 18 innings long, when Jeremy Pena’s HR (his only hit of the night) ended the game, 1-0, and sent Houston to the AL championship series.
The Astros are no stranger to lengthy contests. A 2005 Divisional round game vs. the Braves also went 18 innings, but the teams didn’t go into extra innings scoreless. Back in 1968, the Astros beat the Mets, 1-0, in an early-season game that went 24 innings. I remember my dad telling me about that game.
Now, the Astros take on the NY Yankees for the AL Pennant in what should be an exciting series. The Astros are up 1-0 with Game 2 on tap Thursday in Houston. If the Astros take the series, it will be the team’s fourth World Series appearance in the last six years.
